Part 5General provisions
Notices, penalties, and enforcement
18Penalty for non-compliance
A person who fails to comply with a provision listed in subsection (2), and every person who is involved in the failure to comply, is liable,—
- if the person is an individual, to a penalty not exceeding $10,000:
- if the person is a company or another body corporate, to a penalty not exceeding $20,000.
The provisions are as follows:
- section 2AAC(a) (which imposes a duty on employers to not differentiate on the basis of sex in the remuneration paid to employees who perform the same, or substantially similar, work):
- section 2A (which relates to unlawful discrimination):
- section 13S(2)(c) or 13ZZAB(2)(b) (which impose a duty on an employer to enter into the pay equity bargaining process if the employer decides or the Authority or court determines that a pay equity claim has merit):
- section 13ZZAC(2)(b) (which imposes a duty on an employer to resume the process of selecting appropriate comparators and assessing a pay equity claim if the Authority or the court determines that 1 or more appropriate comparators are available for selection for use in assessing the claim):
- section 13ZZAD(2)(b) (which imposes a duty on an employer to resume the assessment of a pay equity claim if the Authority or the court determines that all of the employees covered by the claim perform work that is the same or substantially similar):
- section 13C (which imposes a duty on parties to deal with one another in good faith during the pay equity claim process):
- section 13ZZF (which imposes a duty on employers to keep records relating to pay equity claims).
The penalties specified in subsection (1) also apply to—
- an employer who, knowingly or recklessly,—
- fails to comply with the duty under section 13V to notify affected employees of a union-raised pay equity claim that the employer has decided has merit; or
- provides misleading information in a notice given under section 13V; and
- fails to comply with the duty under section 13V to notify affected employees of a union-raised pay equity claim that the employer has decided has merit; or
- a union that knowingly or recklessly fails to comply with the requirements of section 13ZF(3).
Any action for the recovery of a penalty may be brought,—
- in the case of a breach described in subsection (2)(a) or (b),—
- by the employee in relation to whom the breach is alleged to have taken place; or
- by a Labour Inspector; or
- by the employee in relation to whom the breach is alleged to have taken place; or
- in the case of a breach described in subsection (2)(d), by any person in relation to whom the breach is alleged to have taken place; or
- in the case of a breach described in subsection (2)(c), (ca), (cb), or (e) or (3), by an employee who is a claimant in, or who is covered by, the relevant pay equity claim.
For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is involved in a failure to comply if the person would be treated as a person involved in a breach within the meaning of section 142W of the Employment Relations Act 2000.
Notes
- Section 18: replaced, on , by section 23 of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 45).
- Section 18(2)(c): amended, on , by section 46(1)(a) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
- Section 18(2)(c): amended, on , by section 46(1)(b) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
- Section 18(2)(c): amended, on , by section 46(1)(c) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
- Section 18(2)(ca): inserted, on , by section 46(2) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
- Section 18(2)(cb): inserted, on , by section 46(2) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
- Section 18(3)(a)(i): amended, on , by section 46(3) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
- Section 18(4)(c): amended, on , by section 46(4) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).